My friend who is suffering from Long Covid parosmia noted today that it has been a full year since she had a normal sense of smell or taste. One year ago was the last last day she enjoyed the taste and smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Eating is now a chore… and many days, barely tolerable. She is no longer able to smell or taste if something is dangerous or spoiled (smoke, gas, bad milk?). Have lunch with friends? dinner out? No thanks. She dreams of smelling the ocean, fresh cut grass, and oh, those chocolate chip cookies.
January 24, 2022
This large encampment of tent dwellers is in a park in my town right next to the county governmental office building. I think people around the world are shocked and dismayed, as I am, at the increasing number of unhoused people in this country, and the rise in extreme income disparity. People once viewed the USA as a prosperous country where poverty and wealth inequality were less dire than most countries, a place where a full time worker could afford to live comfortably. Now scenes like this are common in many cities and towns across the country. We have increasing numbers of people living in tents next to streets where Teslas and other signs of wealth are a regular sight. People who once envied us now shake their heads in disbelief and comment that this used to be a much better place.
October 22, 2021